2016 BMW 328i xDrive Automatic

Instrumented Test
BMW forged its reputation with fun-to-drive sports sedans, especially compact ones like the 3-series, a regular on our annual 10Best Cars list for much of three decades. But recently, BMW has also become good at certain things beyond that core competency. Fuel-efficiency. All-wheel drive. Ride smoothness. High-zoot luxury and technology. So when our West Coast bureau picked up this handsome Estoril Blue 2016 BMW 328i xDrive, dolled up with the M Sport package plus most every luxury and tech feature BMW could pack inside—at an eye-watering $58,795 price—it seemed as if this car might be capable of flexing all of BMW’s muscles at once.Four Is Enough
A decade ago, the notion of BMW slapping turbochargers on its sinewy engines was utter heresy. Now, turbochargers appear on every BMW save the electric i3. Powerplants such as the 328i’s N20 2.0-liter four-cylinder prove that the company’s engines can deliver the expected performance. Even working through an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, the N20’s 240 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque always felt close at hand (or foot, more accurately), thanks in part to the gearbox’s quick, intuitive shift mapping and the availability of all that torque at only 1250 rpm. Whether on the track or around town, the 328i always feels ready to pounce.


The Rub: Less Grip
Despite tipping the scales at a chunky 3700 pounds, our test car sprinted to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, just 0.1 second behind a rear-wheel-drive 2016 328i automatic we tested with the available Track package and summer tires. Alas, with 134 pounds of extra weight and riding 0.2-inch higher on all-season Continental run-flats, the all-wheel-driver performed less heroically at the skidpad, generating only 0.86 g of lateral grip, far short of the rear-drive car’s 0.93 g with its sticky Michelins (a no-cost option). The 70-to-zero-mph braking figure also stretched from 163 feet to 174.

During our week with the car, El Niño was on siesta, so we didn’t have so much as a puddle to splash through, let alone a Michigan winter storm, to let the xDrive system make its strongest case. The advantages of all-weather traction are a some-of-the-time experience while the compromises in cost, weight, and performance are constant. On dry roads, the system remained virtually invisible excepting that it made the rear end somewhat less inclined to dance when powering along winding roads at breathtaking speeds; our observed fuel economy was 20 mpg, 1 mpg worse than we saw in the rear-drive version.


The F30 3-series has long been dinged for lacking steering feel off-center, and this one was no exception. But at least it is obedient and unwaveringly steady at high speeds, another longstanding BMW competency. It drives with the mature refinement of BMW’s larger luxury sleds, an attribute that seems to attract buyers even as it irritates the core constituency.

Luxurious-ish
As mentioned, this example was packed with extras—more than $17,000 worth—including Dakota leather ($1450), Harman/Kardon audio ($875), rear window shades ($575), and more packages than a FedEx warehouse, including Cold Weather (heat for the steering wheel, front and rear seats, $800), Driver Assistance (rear camera and park distance control, $950) and Driver Assistance Plus, (blind-spot warning, Active Driving Assistant, side- and top-view cameras, $1700), as well as Lighting (automated high-beams, $800), Premium ($2450 for keyless entry, sunroof, lumbar support, and a year of satellite radio), and Technology (navigation, head-up display, apps, and services for $2750) packages. We’d gladly shed both Driver Assistance packages and manage the high-beams ourselves to pare costs, but we understand these half-steps toward autonomous driving are immensely popular.


Speaking of such matters, it was another $1200 for active cruise control, a stand-alone option that somehow escaped being included in either Driver Assistance package, and then there was BMW’s usual ridiculous $350 ding for Bluetooth and smartphone plugs, a “feature” many cheap compact cars include as standard equipment or at least fold into the option prices on navigation or audio upgrades.

One of the few options not found on this car was the adaptive suspension ($700), but it’s one we’d prioritize; it helped sharpen the dynamics of the most recent six-cylinder 340i xDrive we tested. Without it, the $3000 M Sport package is largely cosmetic, adding M-spec wheels, aero skirts, and dark trim around the windows, along with excellent sport seats, aluminum and blue trim on the dash, console, and doors, and one of our favorite steering wheels in the segment.

Despite all the ways this car could comfort its occupants and assist its driver, the interior still felt less deluxe than its near-$60K price tag suggests. Five years after its last redesign, the 3’s interior is starting to show its age. Despite a mild refresh for 2016, it’s aesthetically and ergonomically out of date, and hard plastics abound. The 3-series is far from uncomfortable, but the environment pales next to that in, say, the 2017 Audi A4, the Quattro version of which is this xDrive BMW’s primary competition.

With all of its bells, whistles, and little bitty “M” badges, this 328i should have felt more special for costing only $1625 less than that 340i xDrive we tested. Perhaps it would be more satisfying if it weren’t trying to perform all of BMW’s latest tricks at once while demoting excellent driving dynamics to the background.